"Elly, come here, I need to talk to you."
Listening to the person on the other end of the phone who didn’t seem very sober, Elly Campbell frowned and asked, "Where are you?"
When Elly Campbell rushed to the Starry Night Bar, she saw Helen Melendy sitting at the counter from a distance, downing shots of hard liquor one after another.
As soon as she approached, the smell of alcohol mixed with perfume emanating from her friend made Elly involuntarily wrinkle her brow.
"Why are you drinking so much?"
Helen Melendy glanced at Elly with bleary eyes and poured her a drink, "Come on, have a few drinks with me."
After receiving the drink, Elly didn’t touch it but simply placed it aside, gazing at her friend who was clearly drunk.
They had met while studying in the United States, and although one studied law and the other medicine, being from Greece brought them naturally close like old acquaintances in a foreign land.
With both having similar temperaments, they became close friends who could talk about anything and everything.
The Helen Melendy she knew had always been a very cheerful person; no matter what difficulties she encountered, she wouldn’t even frown, always laughing off the days.
This was the first time Elly had seen her drink to this state, her eyes brimming with pain and sorrow.
"Elly, let me tell you... men... men are fucking bastards, they talk about loving you for a lifetime, but their hearts are rotten to the core, hurting you invisibly, you know?"
Elly was startled and, facing Helen’s blurry gaze due to alcohol, helplessly chuckled.
How could she not know?
In those three years of marriage to Adam Jones, she had felt it all too clearly.
"They toy with emotions and then cold-heartedly leave you hanging, so cruelly that it catches you off guard..."
Helen Melendy continued, while Elly listened quietly, her lips pressed tightly, tasting a vague bitterness.
Instinctively, she picked up the glass of alcohol next to her and gulped it down fiercely, trying to wash away some of the bitterness in her heart.
"It’s cruel, so damn cruel, Elly, tell me... what are their hearts made of, how can they be so heartless, to just let go like that?"
Helen Melendy stared blankly at Elly, her eyes full of confusion and unwillingness, "Back then, he clearly said he loved me, how could he deceive me ..."
Elly didn’t know who Helen Melendy was referring to but felt as though the pain was her own, she picked up her glass once more and took another harsh gulp.
Her chest hurt, swollen with pain, the alcohol incessantly scorching her heart.
"Elly, you know, after I finished talking about your divorce with Mr. Gu today, I saw Adam Jones with that illegitimate daughter..."
She laughed sarcastically, and Elly paused in her drinking when she heard Helen mention Adam Jones and Sophie Baker.
Thinking back to the scene she saw earlier today, when they entered the coffee shop one after the other, she forcibly curved her lips with feigned indifference.
"Adam Jones is trash too, why does he even bother having Mr. Gu come to talk about mediation when he’s fooling around with that illegitimate daughter on the side, as if no one’s blind?"
Elly’s hand holding the glass clenched tightly.
She was supposed to be indifferent, she had let go of Adam Jones four years ago, so why did it still hurt when she heard about their intimate "fooling around"?
It must be the liquor that’s too strong, burning her heart with pain.
She picked up the glass next to her, and poured herself another full glass, gulping it down fiercely, trying to extinguish the fire in her heart, as if only by doing so could she alleviate the heartache a bit.